Case involves counterfeit cash, another suspect, investigators say

STERLING – Bond was set Wednesday at $10,000 for a Rock Falls woman who police say returned items paid for with counterfeit money in order to reap the real thing.

Shanti M. Kendrick, 21, is charged with burglary and forgery. She has a preliminary hearing Nov. 29.

Two months ago, Robert M. Patterson, 24, was charged with two counts of forgery in Lee County. Police there say Patterson used nearly $700 in phony currency to buy items at the Dixon Walmart on Aug. 5.

Dixon police contacted Sterling police because they thought Patterson was in the area. Police and U.S. Secret Service agents arrested him in Sterling on Sept. 14, Sterling Detective Sgt. Steve Hubbard said.

During the investigation, police learned that Kendrick took the items Patterson bought at the Dixon Walmart – a vaccum cleaner and an appliance – and returned them to the Rock Falls store, signing the refund slip with a phony name, Hubbard said.

Patterson is in Whiteside County Jail on $200,000 bond; he has a pretrial conference Nov. 28.